With or Without You
by M. Night Wolfalona
Summary: Post SD2. He loves her so much that he can't live with or without her. But will he be able to? Or will she let him? Songfic with U2, 'With or Without You', Shelma. Please R&R, and enjoy.


**Hell-llo, my fine and faithful feathered friends. Here's a songfic from U2 'With or Without You', set a little after SD2. Hope you like it**

**Disclaimer: Nope. If I DID own them, trust me. Things would be WAY more different then they are now, including the hunger and cowardliness of two certain characters, and the ego and stupid uselessness of another pair. Plus, I'd add more REAL monsters, not just fat old guys in boogus rubber suits. You got that? Good. Now, on with the fic idea! Enjoy!**

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_With or Without You_

_by_

_U2 _

_and _

_Wolfy the Ironic Ninja_

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_See the stone set in your eyes_

_See the thorn twist in your side_

The rain poured down relentlessly, leaving nothing visible but gray streaks of water, floating aimlessly, but falling purposely all around you. A young man waited, dripping slightly, at a small bus station, waiting for a bus that would take him far away from here, from his friends, from his home.

From her.

He stared blankly out into his smeary gray surroundings while seeing nothing, feeling as if he was being stabbed repeatedly with shards of broken ice into his side. His battered suitcase sat loyally at his feet, filled with a few weeks' worth of clothes for his vacation. But today, it held none of the friendly excitement that it usually did before a trip. Maybe it was because he was traveling alone, without her, that everything about this trip felt wrong. But he had to leave. He had no choice.

He was leaving because he loved her. And because she couldn't love him back. Not ever.

But he still waited.

Waited for an answer. For if she came she loved him. But if she didn't, well then...

His life was over. And she would be gone from it.

Forever.

_I wait_

_For you_

He had left a letter for her and the gang, a separate one for each. To the rest of the gang, he was going on a vacation. But in _her _letter, he told her everything that he felt.

He told her the truth. But fate had always been cruel to him. It was fate that had made him fall in love with her again and again, that had made her unknowingly break his heart.

And it was fate that made him come back every time.

She had never known of his feelings. And before tonight, she never would have. But he had had enough of keeping secrets, of lying to himself and her.

She had to know. And then, well--

It was all up to her.

_Slight of hand and twist of fate_

_On a bed of nails she makes me wait_

_And I wait_

_Without you_

He looked down at his watch. The bus was coming in exactly thirty-seven minutes. But would she?

He had never understood why he had fallen in love with her, of all people. She, who was his best friend, who understood him the best, who knew him better then he knew himself sometimes. She, who always knew what to say to make him feel as if he actually belonged in the gang, to make him feel like he was actually worth something.

And yet at the same time, made him feel insignificant, worthless, and so alone that it hurt more then a lifetime in Hell ever could.

So much for him being an optimist. Maybe he was just getting jaded as he got older, more like the beatnik side of him, and losing the flower child to reality and heartbreak.

And all because of her. She made him feel as if the world were beginning and ending, as if he wanted to burst with glee and kill himself, all at once.

And it killed him inside, as it slowly tore him apart.

And it was that that finally made him leave.

That finally made him write the letter.

He knew that he couldn't stand it any longer. He couldn't live with and work beside her any longer. Especially when he loved her like he did, with a passion and heartbreak more powerful then the sun itself.

And tonight, it was all being washed away. And yet...

He couldn't live if he never saw her, if he couldn't be near her every day. If he couldn't gaze into those beautifully heartbreaking eyes, throw his arms around her in a great bear hug that would be returned, couldn't talk to her, couldn't be around her every second of every day and drown in her almond honey scent every single day for the rest of his life, he would die.

But he would die either way, of loneliness or of disappointment and sadness.

And it wouldn't matter a bit, if he were with or without her.

Because he would have nothing either way but a cracking heart and a lonely soul.

_With or without you_

_With or without you_

He checked his watch again. 10:47. Just 23 minutes left. And the rain poured down.

He stood up and stepped from the protective covering of the overhang over the bench into the relentlessly falling crystals, letting his mind be washed clean from all previous subjects that had been there. He felt a shiver run through him as his clothes quickly became heavy, clinging to his icy skin. But this time, his face wasn't just streaked with the rain.

He cried openly to the world.

She wasn't coming.

And she never would.

_Through the storm we reach the shore_

_You give it all but I want more_

_And I'm waiting_

_For you_

He knew that she could never love him, not like he loved her. She only loved him as she would love a friend, a cousin, maybe a brother. This confession would shock her, inevitably. And she wouldn't come because of how she felt.

She had always known of him as a friend, a co-worker, as family, and nothing else. She had always been comfortable with him, but she wouldn't be anymore. Everything would be awkward, uncomfortable, because she could never care about him in that way, not like he did towards her. None of the gang knew about his feelings, not even Scooby. After tonight, they would, because she would tell them. They would make a decision, and then he would no longer be a part of Mystery Inc. Because who would chose the bait over the brain? And besides, those three had been close friends long before he and Scooby ever came into the picture. So the choice was obvious.

His life was over. His friends would be gone. His heart would be shattered beyond repair.

And yet he would still love her until the day he died.

_With or without you_

_With or without you_

_Oh,_

_I can't live_

_With or without you_

In the distance, he thought he heard a car door slam. He went back to his seat, dripping again, his eyes still damp, his cheeks still streaked with sorrow. Another person was coming on the late night bus to Greystown, Michigan. Maybe they too shared his pain, he thought; but he quickly dismissed this. No one could know what he was feeling, or have any idea of what he felt.

He was alone in the world. And from now on, he always would be.

_And you give yourself away_

_And you give yourself away_

One final selfish thought ran through his head as he checked his watch for the last time. Just why did she date such cruel men? Those who had hurt her most, who had made her run to him for comfort, who had made him love her even more as he brushed away her tears and held her close again, why did they do it? She didn't deserve to be hurt by anyone. She deserved to be loved and cherished for all of eternity, to be worshiped and held, so that she would always smile and laugh, and never again be forced to cry. She let herself be swept away by those petty promises of love by those misfits who only wanted one thing from her, the one thing that she was so reluctant to give besides her love and trust. She let herself be taken away from who she was. From him.

And a final tear flowed down his cheek, because he knew that he would never see her again, that she would never be with him.

And so happiness fled from him for the last time, never to return again.

_And you give_

_And you give_

_And you give yourself away_

He heard footsteps through the din of the falling rain as they ascended the concrete steps, so stable, unlike his feelings, his life, his soul in a whole. He glanced up at the welcome intruder and gasped, as he stared wide-eyed at the soaking person before him.

She had come.

And she had saved him from drowning in despair for the final time.

_My hands are tied_

_My body bruised, she got me with_

_Nothing to win_

_And_

_Nothing left to lose_

He rose from his seat, water dripping from his clothes and tears of relief and love falling rapidly from his eyes as she approached him. Her own clothing clung to her skin in ways that he never let himself dream of, and her glasses were fogged up with her own dampening eyes, hidden by the mist. She took them off and wiped them clean, sniffling as she did so, before stopping at where he stood, unsteadily. He didn't know what to do now that she was here. He hadn't expected her to come at all. So all he did was stand there and look at her, as if it was all a dream.

And the rain poured on.

He wondered vaguely why she had come. He had nothing to him, no looks or brains or brawn or anything impressive about him that would interest her. All he could do was love her and trust her and hold her when she needed him most. But would that be enough?

And they waited for the other to speak.

_And you give yourself away_

_And you give yourself away_

_And you give_

_And you give_

_And you give yourself away_

"I don't know why I came." Her voice rose him from his thoughts, and he gazed at her. She seemed hesitant to speak her thoughts, those that he longed to hear out loud. So he asked the burning question that rested in his head.

"So why did you?" He spoke timidly, as he shifted his feet, waiting, wondering, waiting for thw answer.

"Because my heart told me to," She said.

And he waited.

"Shaggy." He looked up slowly, his eyes meeting hers in understanding, and with relief, with timid love.

He smiled at what he saw within the depths of her rosen brown eyes. She reached for his hands.

And her lips rose to meet his in a glowing rose.

_With or without you_

_With or without you_

_I can't live_

_With or without you_

And so they just stood there, as rain poured down from the heavens, joined together by a love deeper then anything that anyone ever knew of, their arms sliding around the other's body, their fingers entwining in each other's hair, and their souls fusing together in harmony, in love, in trust, and in an unknown beauty that we will never see until the world swirls away. The rain and the pain faded, the scars on their hearts healed themselves, each reveling in the other's secrets. They stayed that way for several minutes, not noticing the bus as it pulled up and waited, and drove away again. Everything around themselves was ignored, forgotten, unnoticed. The moment was preserved perfectly in the rain, its crystal droplets sliding down their trembling bodies as they moved closer to each other, breathing in and out as one, and breathing in each other, their tongues swirling together in that one passionate kiss that was their love, growing stronger and steadier, a faint but increasingly beautiful rose.

From that day on, their lives were around each other, around their love as it grew stronger and sweeter and stronger.

And it bloomed.

And as the kiss grew more passionate, they were eventually drawn back to the van, that Velma had driven alone, thankfully. They clamored into the back, quickly shutting the door and shedding their sodden clothes, reveling in the other's beauty as they had never witnessed it. Their emotions swirled around, confused, but all as one, as love, and trust, and forgiveness and sorrow and relief and passion and laughter and a thousand other things, that ran through their minds as they made love, keeping each other warm, and protecting the other from the rains of heartbreak and sadness as their skin brushed up against skin, lips upon lips, and souls entertwining together as a seed rose from the ashes of two once broken and battered hearts, and grew into that of a trusting tree, born from the love and joy of two people as they became one within another.

_With or without you _

_With or without you_

And hours later, as the rain pounded against the roof of the Mystery Machine, they lay together, embracing the other under a spare blanket, and wearing nothing else but the other's arms around each other. All was silent, and the two reveled in the love that they'd experienced and embraced, letting everything wash over them, as it washed the scars away.

"Shaggy?" She broke the silence, and looked up at her new found lover's face. He looked at her, a question in his eyes.

"Yeah?"

"I love you." And the words were said, finally out in the open, after having been kept a secret for so long. He smiled and looked into her maple syrup eyes, before reaching down for a long and loving kiss.

"I love you too," he murmured. And he felt her smile as she snuggled into his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist, with not a worry in the world floating through her head as she drifted off into a blissful sleep. And for a while, he watched her breath in and out, peacefully, as he watched her dream, before finally dozing off as well.

And the last thing that ran through his head was that no dream of his could compare to what had happened that night. His love had been returned, he no longer had to hide his feelings, and the most beautiful woman in the world was lying in his arms, as much in love with him as he was with her.

And never again would he have to live with or without her in his life like he once did.

_I can't live_

_With or without you_

_With or without you_

**I know that I shouldn't've written this, not with my other story. But it came to me as I listened to this song last night. I hope that you liked it. Please Review if you did, or even if you didn't. Just please review. And I hope that you guys enjoyed the Shelma goodness. Good night.  
-Wolfy- **


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